Foot-power mechanism.



PATEN-TED JUNE 7,1904,

SLOTKIN.

, FOOT POWER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1903.

INVENTOR .filf/El lflw ATTORNEYS as co, Pnmmumo. wnumnmn a UNITED STATES Patented June '7', 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

MAYER SLOTKIN, on NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF To JULIUS PRAGLIN, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

FOOT-POWER MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 762,004, dated June '7, 1904.

Application filed May 29, 1903. Serial No. 159,243. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MAYER SLOTKIN, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York, borough of Manhattan, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFoot-Power Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improve- 3 means the foot-muscles are less fatigued than when motion is given by the ankle; and for th1s purpose the 1nve'nt1on conslsts of a footpower mechanism which comprises upright standards, a fly-wheel the shaft of which is supported in bearings of said standards, a clutch on the shaft of the fly-wheel, a pinion on said' clutch, a toothed segment meshing with said pinion, and a lever attached to the segment and provided with a foot-rest at its lower end, the upper end of the segment being provided with a lateral stop for limiting the forward or return movement of the segment and footlever by contact with the casing of the clutch. The invention consists, further, of a pivoted and spring-actuated knee-brake which is applied to the upper end of the standards for permitting the quick stoppage of the footpower by the attendant whenever required.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my improved.

wardly-ending brackets a bearings a for theshaft f of the fly-wheel F. These bearings are preferably located at some distance below the upper ends of the standards B. At the upper forwardly-extending end of one of the standards B is arranged a bearing d, which receivesthe pivot of a foot-J ever L,said pivot being inserted into the bearing and retained in the same in any suitable manner, so as to form the fulcrum on which the foot-leverL swings. To the shaft of the fly-wheel is applied a clutch G of any improved construction, which clutch is so constructed that it will impart motion to the fiy wheol shaft when moved in one direction, but clear the same when it is moved in the opposite direction. This clutch may be,

for example, of the construction shown in my Patent No. 715,164, dated December 2, 1902, or it may be of any approved construction. In the machine shown in the drawings it consists of a ratchet-wheel 7L keyed to the shaft f, a housing it, connected with. the pinion e and inclosing the ratchet-wheel if, and a pawl it, connected with the housing 72, and actuated into engagement with the ratchet-wheel by a suitable spring 7L3. When the foot-rest '1 is moved rearwardly, the housing and ratchet are moved thereby in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, whereby the ratchet engages the ratchet-wheel, and the shaft f is turned. Upon the return motion of the treadle the housing h and pawl are moved in the return direction, whereby the ratchet passes over the teeth of the ratchet-wheel. On thecasing of the clutch is arranged a pinion 0, which is placed in mesh with a toothed segment E, which is rigidly attachechby means of fastening-bolts e, to the upper curved portion of the foot-lever L, as shown in Fig. 1. The lower end of the foot-lever is curved in backward direction and then in forward direction and provided at its forward end with a foot-restr, which is ribbed in a suitable manner, so as to give the desired support to the foot. To the upper end of the toothed segment E at its point of connection with the upper end of the curved foot-lever L is arranged a laterally-projecting stop-pin 19, which is of suflicient length so as to abut against the casing of the clutch, which thereby forms a stop when the rearward motion of the footlever under the influence of the momentum of the fly-wheel takes place, said stop-pin arresting the motion of the foot-lever, and thereby limiting the rearward movement of the treadle. Mutilation of the teeth of the pinion by abutment of the same against the outer end of the lever, which heretofore frequently occurred, is thus obviated. The stop-pin and clutchcasing provide a means independent of the pinion for arresting the segment. The forward movement of the treadle is limited by the lower end of the segment, which is arranged at an angle to the toothed portion, as shown at 0 Fig. 1. This angular portion forms a stop device by which the forward motion of the lever L is limited while the projecting stop-pin 7) forms a stop device for the foot-lever during the backward motion of the same. It thereby keeps the treadle always under control of the operator and prevents the slipping away of the same during the motion under the momentum of the fly-wheel, as has been the case heretofore.

To the upper end of the standard B, which carries the fulcrum of the foot-lever L, is fulcrumed a forwardly-extending brake-arm g, which is acted upon by a suitable spring a, said arm being provided with a rear extension g, which abuts against a pin on the standard B, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The forward end of the fulcrumed and springactuated brake-arm g carries a brake-shoe of rubber or other suitable material that is attached thereto, so as to project toward the rim of the fiy-wheel. The brake-arm is intended to be operated by the knee of the operator whenever the foot-power is to be stopped. T he pressure on the enlarged end of the brake-arm will cause the shoe to impinge on the rim of the fiy-wheel and stop the motion of the same, the foot-pressure on the treadle being at the same time discontinued. By the brake action thus applied the momentum of the fly-wheel is quickly stopped and the footpower better adapted for interrupting the motion of the sewing-machine or other light machine driven by foot-power than heretofore. The stop-pin g is so located as to arrest the brake, which is of such length that it would otherwise swing into the way of the operator before it reaches that point. The stop-pin is so located as to arrest the brake in a vertical plane between the wheel and the treadle 0', as shown in Fig. 2, so that the brake, which otherwise would be free to turn upon its pivot into the plane of the treadle, and thereby by interference with the operator interfere with the treadle, is positively arrested before it arrives at such interfering position.

The operation of my improved foot-power mechanism is as follows: hen the foot is placed on the foot-rest r and moved in forward direction, oscillating motion is in'iparted to the foot-lever L, so that the toothed segment E meshes with the pinion of the clutch G and imparts rotary motion to the clutch and by the same to the shaft of the fly-wheel, so that the latter is turned in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1.- By gravity the foot-lever is returned into forward position and arrested by the contact of its stop-pin with the casing of the clutch. hen the footlever and its trcadle are in returned position, another impulse or kick is imparted by the foot to the same. By repeating these kicks a continuous rotary motion is imparted to the fly-wheel and from the same by suitable belt and pulley transmission to the spindles or shafts of the sewing-machine, lathes, drills, bufling, or other light machinery to be driven by foot-power, said machine being supported on a table above the foot-power mechanism. The foot-lever and clutch-mechanism turn the fly-wheel always in one and the same direction as soon as motion is imparted to the foot-lever,the iiy-whecl continuing its rotary motion and imparting the return motion to the foot lever and treadle. lVhenever the foot-power is to be arrested, the brake is called into action by the pressure of the knee on the same, the brake-shoe being instantly removed as soon as the pressure is relaxed.

My improved foot-power mechanism is of simple construction and can be operated either with one or two foot-levers, the forward motion of the foot on the foot-rest starting the machine, which is kept continuously in motion by repeated kicks without the use of hands, the fly-wheel always turning in the same direction. By the pendulum motion 01 the foot-lever or foot-levers the whole strength of the limbs can be applied, so that there is less fatigue than with the ankle movement required for operating treadles. By the clutches great power and momentum is imparted to the flywheel with each motion of the foot-lever, so that the fly-wheel will run smoothly and speedily for some time before the next motion of the foot-lever or kick is necessary. By increasing the number of kicks the speed and power of the machine are increase l. Thus a very effective foot-power mechanism for all kinds of light machinery is obtained for shops in which no steam-power is available or in which it is not desirable to apply expensive transmission-power to all the smaller machines.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A foot-power mechanism, consisting of upright standards, a fly-wheel, the shaft of which is supported in bearings of said standards, a clutch applied to the shaft of said flywheel, a pinion on said clutch, a foot-lever fulcrumed to one of said standards and provided with a foot-rest at its lower end, a toothed segment attached to the upper end of said foot-lever and adapted to mesh with the pinion on the clutch, and a laterally-extending stop-pin at the upper end of saidsegment, substantially as set forth.

2. In afoot-power mechanism, the combination, with upright standards, of a fly-wheel,

the shaft of which is supported in bearings of said standards, a clutch applied to the shaft of said fly-wheel, a pinion on said clutch, a foot-lever fulcrumed to one said standards, a toothed segment pivoted to mesh with said pinion, means connecting said segment at its 

